


Thomas, Bent

by MimiIvory



Series: Thomas at an angle [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Banter, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Reunions, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 7,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25466428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MimiIvory/pseuds/MimiIvory
Summary: Please read parts one and two before reading this. Not necessarily in that order.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Series: Thomas at an angle [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808722
Comments: 28
Kudos: 61





	1. Vigilance

**Author's Note:**

> Interacting with your counterparts is interesting.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vigilance talks to his family, and Anxiety.

(Anxiety) “Hey, Princey.”

It’s them. It’s actually them.

(Virgil) “Hope! Creativity!”

They’re here.

(Logan) “Watch out for the… nevermind. Looks like the portal is stable. I know we’re finally seeing Virgil again, but we don’t want the portal to close before he gets through.”

That does sound bad.

(Hope) “Oh my goodness. Virgil, you’re here.”

Never letting go.

(Creativity) “Wasn’t sure if I was going to see you again.”

Idiot.

(Virgil) “I’m never going to leave you.”

I mean, just ask Hope. Or don’t. Don’t ask Hope anything. Ever. If you want the truth. Whatever.

(Hope) “That’s what I said.”

Sure.

(Virgil) “Like we can trust you.”

Never.

(Creativity) “You’re a jerk.”

Always.

(Virgil) “Not my fault. Don’t want me to call you a liar, stop lying all the time.”

I missed them so much.

(Hope) “Come on. I’m not a liar. Stop looking at me like that.”

Sure.

(Virgil) “What happened while I was gone, anyway? You’re in the living room.”

Not something I ever though was going to happen.

(Hope) “Anxiety came in and saved us.”

That cannot be it.

(Virgil) “Okay, sorry. I should have clarified. Creativity, what happened when I was gone?”

Heh.

(Hope) “Rude.”

Yeah.

(Creativity) “Anxiety showed up and did traumatic ranting, then decided to scare the shirt out of the Dark Sides and take over, and then did that with ranting and his demon voice. Hey, Anxiety, can you do the demon voice?”

That doesn’t sound like fun.

(Anxiety) “ **_SURE._ ** **_WHY_ ** _? _ **_”_ **

Well, that is fun.

(Virgil) “Well, I guess I called it.”

Definitely.

(Hope) “What?”

Oh you know.

(Virgil) “I called him just coming in here and fixing everything.”

Not very seriously, but still.

(Hope) “Yeah, he’s amazing. I wonder how he did all that.”

Probably the same way that everybody heals so fast.

(Virgil) “He listens to his creativity. He’s a youtuber and everything.”

Creativities.

(Creativity) “Wow. Does that mean that if I keep on creating, then I can get superpowers?”

Maybe?

(Virgil) “You’re creating now?”

Anxiety did a lot.

(Hope) “I know, right?”

I need to talk to him.

(Virgil) “Give me half a second. Then I’ll be right back.”

I won’t be gone long.

(Virgil) “Hey, Anxiety.”

He seems startled.

(Anxiety) “Hey.”

He seems confused. Can’t blame him.

(Virgil) “I heard you saved Hope and Creativity.”

Kinda.

(Anxiety) “Yeah, I guess so. Didn’t need to do too much, just glad I could help.”

I guess so. Probably the most I could get out of him.

(Virgil) “Even so, thank you. And I think you might want to talk to Duke and Deceit. They have some  _ things _ to work out.”

Gosh.

(Anxiety) “How do you know?”

I’m the nearest look-alike, so they dumped all their sins at my feet.

(Virgil) “They are sad. And very… talkative.”

No kidding.

(Anxiety) “Remus, maybe, but Deceit?”

Yes.

(Virgil) “They are guilty. They want to talk to you. I’m fairly certain they aren’t able to. Go talk to them, sometime.”

They need to.

(Anxiety) “Sure?”

Thank goodness.

(Virgil) “Okay, bye.”

Looks like we got that one over with.

(Virgil) “So, what else happened while I was gone?”

A lot?

(Creativity) “So…”

This is nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, how did you think Virgil would act with his family?


	2. Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anxiety is confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm doing a two-sided interaction. It won't be like for the next ones.

Nice to see them again

(Virgil) “Hey, princey.”

Missed you.

(Vigilance?) “Hope, Creativity!”

Maybe not that much.

(Logan) “Watch out for the… nevermind. Looks like the portal is stable. I know we’re finally seeing Virgil again, but we don’t want the portal to close before he gets through.”

That would be bad.

(Virgil) “It’s good to see you too, guys.”

Missed you guys.

(Roman) “I missed you so much.”

Yeah. 

(Virgil) “Me too, princey.”

I love you.

(Patton) “I missed you too, my dark strange son.”

Didn’t miss that nickname so much.

(Virgil) “Yeah. I missed all of you.”

Even Deceit and The Duke. Wow.

(Logan) “I missed you as well. Would you mind telling me what happened here? It seems different then what Vigilance described.”

There have been a lot of changes.

(Virgil) “Well, it turns out that Tempest tongue is flipping terrifying to people without powers, so I freaked out and then staged a coup?”

When I say it like that, it sounds strange.

(Deceit) “...How?”

Fair enough.

(Virgil) “I freaked out and yelled at them, with Tempest tongue, so then they were scared of me, and then I used that power to make the alternate universe versions of you scared of me so that I could make them treat the alternate versions of you too with common decency.”

Yeah, definitely a bit strange.

(Remus) “Wow. Didn’t think you'd do that to any version of us.”

I’m not a total ash.

(Virgil) “I would do that for you, never mind super cheerful versions that haven’t tried to murder me, or anything.”

Did they not know that?

(Remus) “...Hey, Anxiety, can you do the demon voice?”

I guess so?

(Anxiety) “ **_SURE._ ** **_WHY_ ** _? _ **_”_ **

I don’t think I’m getting an answer. Ah well, I suppose it’s not very important.

(The Duke) “Wow. How did that happen?”

Trauma. Wait.

(Virgil) “Remus. You sound… different.”

Something's off.

(The Duke) “What are you talking about?”

He’s not acting like normal.

(Virgil) “You’re not acting as disturbing as usual.”

You’re acting like a regular person.

(The Duke) “Do you want me to be more disturbing?”

Heck no.

(Virgil) “No. But why do you care about my opinions now?”

You didn’t, like, last week.

(Patton) “Can we talk about this later?”

A lot happened while I was gone.

(Virgil) “I guess I have more questions for you then you probably do for me.”

I have a lot of questions.

(Logan) “Yes, but the events that happened here were more… contained.”

I would bet. 

(Virgil) “Hey, Anxiety.”

Oh, there’s Vigilance.

(Anxiety) “Hey.”

What needs to be private.

(Virgil) “I heard you saved Hope and Creativity.”

Kinda.

(Anxiety) “Yeah, I guess so. Didn’t need to do too much, just glad I could help.”

Being a decent person.

(Virgil) “Even so, thank you. And I think you might want to talk to Duke and Deceit. They have some  _ things _ to work out.”

Well, this is not a conversation I though would be having.

(Anxiety) “How do you know?”

Deceit is basically a steel trap most of the time.

(Virgil) “They are sad. And very… talkative.”

What? 

(Anxiety) “Remus, maybe, but Deceit?”

Never.

(Virgil) “They are guilty. They want to talk to you. I’m fairly certain they aren’t able to. Go talk to them, sometime.”

What on earth happened while I was gone?

(Anxiety) “Sure?”

Why did I say yes?

(Virgil) “Okay, bye.”

Wait, is that why Remus was being weird?

(Virgil) “I have many, many questions.

That was a confusing conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self-Righteousness and Patton won't get along. Maybe Hope?


	3. Creativity (Remus, The Count)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Light Sides discuss problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not all Remus-centric. Oh well.

(Remus) “...He’s not very nice, but he is good. I think. Is that right, Hope?”

I forget the words for the ideas sometimes. And good is a big idea.

(Janus) “Yeah, I think so. He wasn’t very interested in spending a lot of time with us, but he was very willing to help us against the Dark Sides. Just to be included. It was nice. Thomas is talking to us now.”

And doing art.

(Virgil) “I have so many things to talk to him about.”

I remember.

(Remus) “Do you remember the list?”

That was an impressive list.

(Virgil) “I think I still have it. Give me a second. Wait, I forgot. Can’t teleport here.”

Oh yeah.

(Janus) “We can now. Control is working with us.”

Oh yeah!

(Remus) “Can’t believe I forgot.”

I mean, really?

(Virgil) “Do you think that the creating might help with your head?”

Maybe?

(Remus) “That’s not very nice.”

He isn’t always.

(Virgil) “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you!”

That’s a new one.

(Remus) “It happens.”

He’s confused.

(Virgil) “I actually insult you?”

Not really?

(Remus) “No? You didn’t do it then, either.”

Doesn’t bother me.

(Remus) “I know you like to mess with us. You don’t mean the mean stuff. And if you do, it’s a lot sharper than it’s supposed to be. I know you care about us, that you work to help us, and that’s what matters.”

It’s pretty much the only thing that does.

(Virgil) “Thanks.”

Aww.

(Janus) “You care about us.”

That’s sweet.

(Virgil) “Of course I do. You’re my family.”

Not always in the simple ways, but in the big ones.

(Remus) “You don’t do a lot of talking about it, though.”

Unless we’re in danger.

(Virgil) “I do it when I feel like you need to.”

You can do it at other times.

(Hope) “But why?”

Because sarcasm is more fun?

(Virgil) “Sarcasm is easy. It fills in the gaps. I’m not very good at filling the gaps. And it seems like I can tell you I love you when you’re in danger, and do it every other week. At least.”

Our lives are pretty messed up, huh.

(Remus) “I guess so? But what happens now? When we’re not in constant danger?”

Virgil stops saying he cares about us? I don’t want that to happen.

(Virgil) “Yeah. That's not great. I’ll work on it. It’s weird, you know. Going away to a completely crazy place where all the people who hate you act hurt when you call them out for being weird and you’re family is composed of someone who’s probably a murderer, or something and a manipulator, who isn’t as bad as Self-Righteousness but could have been close and everyone’s different, and no one will let you leave, because you’re in danger if you go with your family, who aren’t really your family and your room is full of demons. And everybody's pretty nice, but they see you as someone else, and they have so many problems. None of them are super awful, but they’re all there. And you come back to a world that’s probably even worse than you thought, except it’s not.”

Wow.

(Remus) “That’s a lot different then what happened here.”

Just a lot.

(Hope) “Yeah. It seemed like Anxiety knew what was going on before we did. Not quite, but close. He wasn’t panicking, just thinking.”

That was weird.

(Remus) “Maybe something like that happened to him before. We could ask.”

Maybe.

(Janus) “Maybe we don’t want to ask him personal questions?”

Probably not.

(Virgil) “Why not?”

Because he likes to yell when threatened, and his past is threatening.

(Remus) “He exploded when we called him paranoid. I don’t want to ask about his past.”

I mean, really.

(Virgil) “What did he do to you?”

Wow.

(Janus) “He just freaked out and yelled at us. It’s fine.”

Thanks.

(Creativity) “We’re fine. Don’t worry. All he did was freak out, save us and leave us alone.”

Not perfect, but not awful.

(Virgil) “I need to ask if Logan can keep the portal open.”

Control?

(Remus) “Who? Why?’

Probably not Control.

(Virgil) “Logic. He’s like Control?”

What happened?

(Hope) “When did you start using their names?”

Yeah, that’s a change. And I don’t think that the same thing that happened when you told us your name happened over there, given that it seems to be much less dangerous.

(Virgil) “I befriended them, and they were very uncomfortable with being called anything other than their names.”

I guess that makes sense.

(Remus) “Not the other two, though?”

Duke and Deceit?

(Virgil) “They have the same names as you.”

Oh.

(Virgil) “They’re your names, first. So they belong to you in my book. I need to go talk to Logan though.”

Okay?

(Hope) “I hope that they can keep the portal open.”

Yeah.

(Remus) “That could be bad.”

Very bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That could be bad.


	4. Intrusive Thoughts (Twisted Creativity, The Duke)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil really needed that talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, they might have contrasting viewpoints. Sorry, don't want to write Remus.

(Virgil) “I have many, many questions.”

Oh poop.

(Logan) “Yes?”

Not for you, probably.

(Virgil) “For you two. For example, why is Vigilance concerned with our history? How much did you tell him?”

Oh poop.

(Remus) “A lot? I think Dee-Dee told him everything, though.”

Probably?

(Virgil) “Everything?”

At least enough to make him wildly uncomfortable.

(Janus) “Of course not.”

Why are you lying to him? Maybe it’s not a lie.

(Remus) “Just a heck of a lot about the worst stuff that happened here, given the parallels and the fact that he was acting all buddy-buddy, while Janus was deeply uncomfortable?”

I think

(Logan) “That is the impression I got.”

Seriously, Janus.

(Remus) “Why are you dodging the question, anyway? You spent so much time talking about it. It’s time to confront the problem. And maybe then you two can be in the same general area without anyone fearing for their lives.”

Well, not really, but you get the point.

(Virgil) “What about you?”

Well, I guess I can go now.

(Remus) “I care about you. It’s kind of hard not to, given that we were basically family. Didn’t do a very good job of it, but eh. I tried? And I missed you. And I wanted you to care. So I tried changing It worked alright.”

Not great, but… 

(Virgil) “That’s… kind of sweet. Kind of sad. Why?

I care?

(Remus) “I like you? I thought there was some kind of familial bond, and obviously I was way off on that, and then you left, and I didn’t get it. I might now, because we weren’t quite friendly, but I didn’t.”

I think I’ve heard something like that before.

(Logan) “That sounds kind of like a more dangerous version of the dynamic Vigilance was talking about.”

Maybe?

(Virgil) “How do you know about that?”

I guess that’s a fair question.

(Logan) “I talked to him. He cares a lot for his family.”

I guess we could have been like that. Don’t think we would still be the dark sides, though.

(Virgil) “I… guess it makes sense how people would cling to each other under those circumstances. And it was kind of like that for you. But for me, the biggest problem in my life was you two.”

Oops.

(Remus) “Never thought about it like that.”

That might be an issue.

(Virgil) “Of course not.”

Ah, well.

(Remus) “How do I fix it?”

Why is he confused?

(Virgil) “You care that much?” 

I do.

(Remus) “Pretty much.”

I mean, I thought we were family. We probably weren’t but… 

(Virgil) “Why?”

Because we’re weird?

(Remus) “We were together in the middle of the dark side of the mindscape. I thought that that was what made a family. I don’t think it was, but it was what I understood. You had a different understanding, I think. Probably a better one.”

Just being in the same area and fighting the same people doesn’t mean that much, does it?

(Virgil) “You didn’t… know?”

I guess it makes sense, now.

(Remus) “No.”

Kind of awful way to go about things.

(Virgil) “You ruined my life, which I thought was some sort of act or something for a while, and you really thought that we were family? That you were being like my brother, or something? That I was yours?”

This is a bad conversation.

(Remus) “I didn’t have a very good example.”

I don’t think that was the right thing to do.

(Virgil) “You really believed it, didn’t you? And then I left, and you felt betrayed. Even though I never really though of you as family. You didn’t care, and that hurt. Or maybe you did. But it wasn’t enough. Not enough to communicate it to me, at least. Is that why you were so awful? Because you felt betrayed, for something I would have never considered a betrayal? I think we might need to talk to each other more.”

Ouch.

(Vigilance) “Hey, Logan? Are you going to be able to keep the portal open?”

That was a subject change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It must be really awkward for everybody else, right?


	5. Logic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, we don't want to go back to the way it was before the story started, do we?

Yes, everything seems to be resolving itself. Just need to keep watching… 

(Vigilance) “Hey, Logan? Are you able to keep the portal open?”

That is the main question, isn’t it? However…

(Logan) “I am not sure yet. I believe so, but I am not sure.”

Perhaps… 

(Vigilance) “Do you need our help?”

I suppose so.

(Logan) “That would be beneficial.

I could not ask you to leave your family so soon, though.

(Vigilance) “Then let’s do this!”

What?

(Logan) “Surely you wish to spend more time with your family instead of coming here, which could leave you trapped here forever?

Given that seeing them is your main goal?

(Vigilance) “I’m not leaving them stranded here, like nothing changed. You guys scare them, enough to leave us alone. They have hope. Dang it.”

Why did Hope pop up-Oh.

(Hope) “Accident?”

Indeed.

(Logan) “Do you appear every time someone says your name?”

I thought that you were unable to teleport.

(Hope) “Pretty much. Up until you… wait. Sorry, Control locked us out of the teleportation system. Then I would just get this tug, and it didn’t do anything, but it hurt a bit.”

That does not sound pleasant.

(Vigilance) “It was more than a little tug, Hope. At least it was with us.

Even less pleasant.

(Logan) “Was Control aware of this fact?”

It seems like that would be a lot to forgive.

(Virgil) “We didn’t want to give the Dark Sides another tool to hurt us.”

I am very glad that I was not created over there. Control is not a good person.

(Hope) “And as long as they avoided saying it, I was fine. Well, mostly fine.”

That was probably only because Vigilance was glaring at him. Ah, well.

(Logan) “I believe that it would be helpful if we had everyone working on the portal together. Well, everyone who knows how to operate the machine at least.”

Alright.

(Vigilance) “Hey! Stop with the reunion, we need help with this portal!”

That is certainly one way to say it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Control's chapter might be... short


	6. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Control monologues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just Control being slightly emotive, and very logical

So, the other version of me somehow managed to get a working portal to our dimension before I could. I am curious as to why he made it operational before I did. I suppose I must ask him later, but at the moment he appears to be busy working with the sides that were with him while Anxiety was here.

I was not aware that Vigilance was able to do so much science. Perhaps I shall ask him to help me with something. I expect that, however, that he will not be as eager to help me as he was some stranger who looked a bit like me, given our rather… fraught history.

I do not believe that he fully trusts me. Or trusts me enough to participate in activities alone. He is Vigilance, after all. He would not be called that if he went around hanging out with Pride. Although all the pranks do occasionally make me doubt how much he listens to his smarter instincts. Though, given that I am not in his position, I do not believe that I would be able to tell if it is necessary or not. And I have seen the behavior of the other Light Sides towards the Dark Sides. They do not seem to want to talk with us. They appear to be slightly more comfortable around me than any of the others, given that our history is slightly more friendly then it is with the rest of the Dark Sides, given that I have not physically harmed, or kidnapped any of their members. 

That is not a very high threshold, but I don’t believe I have cleared it by much, given how uncomfortable Hope is around me, while he is the embodiment of positivity. I suppose that locking them out of so many things would most certainly have consequences that I didn’t expect. I have noticed that Hope seems to pop up when anyone says his name, even without it meaning him. Could it have an effect even when he couldn’t teleport?

I am uncertain. They seem to shy away from me whenever I approach them, though perhaps having all of their members back will calm them somewhat. They do seem to be more friendly with Vigilance around, and Vigilance has always been the most friendly towards me. I suppose it is worth a try. But as for now, I shall leave him to operate this portal, and ask him at a later date.


	7. Creativity (Roman)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Virgil ask questions and do banter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Banter is so fun to write. Didn't know that. Hope it's fun to read.

I wonder why Logan didn’t ask us for help sooner? I would have loved to spend more time with my prince, I would never abandon Vigilance’s family alone with those… villains. Patton has told me that name calling is not appropriate language, but they have earned it. He probably wouldn’t protest too much, at least now.

I should probably not focus on them. Virgil’s still here, even if he isn’t helping out.

(Virgil) “And what does that do?”

I don’t know. I don’t know a lot of this stuff.

(Roman) “I just drew up the plans, I don’t really know how it all works. But I know what connects to what. You should ask Logan later. Not now, though. He’s focused, and there’s no way he’s going to talk to any of us when he’s like this.”

Not great for Logan, or any of us, but it’s the way he gets.

(Virgil) “Like what?”

Fair enough.

(Roman) “Focused. Working on a project. I think we should have noticed it before. We don’t spend a lot of time with him while he’s working.”

Virgil is reconsidering, I think.

(Virgil) “I always thought he wanted to do it by himself. I guess I should have asked, but we weren’t always… friendly.”

No kidding.

(Roman) “Well, we can try to help now. Not too fun, though, because he’s always busy, and a bit scary, and distant.”

More so than usual.

(Virgil) “Then why do you do it?”

Because we needed to save you.

(Roman) “Moving forward? I don’t think he’ll be quite that scary, but it’s also what matters to him, so we should try. I’m going to try. I don’t think it will be all fun and games, but Logan deserves some help too. I think Patton is definitely going to help, but that’s no surprise.”

They are certainly in love, but given how the two of them didn’t throw him and Virgil together, even after all the complaining, he can spare them the indignity of getting the two of them together. Let them suffer in silence. Whatever. Just let them sort out their feelings on terms, no matter how long it takes, and how many times Logan reads Virgil poems about the nature of love. They’re 50-50 horribly depressing and sweet, from what he’s told me.

(Virgil) “Yeah. Patton would do science for Logan, no question. Was it harder for him though? Given how much difference there seems to be, it’s like asking me to, like, lead a meditation or something.”

He could probably do it. It just wouldn’t be fun.

(Roman) “Patton seemed more stressed than usual, but he was okay. Not great, but okay. He can definitely handle it. I think he might even enjoy it, under the right circumstances. These were not the right circumstances, but he still found some parts interesting. So, maybe we don’t want to sign him up for an office job, but there are probably some experiments Logan can run that are based on memory and other things. And I think he will.”

Those two don’t have that many excuses to hang out.

(Virgil) “Definitely. Sounds a bit more like Patton’s style. Things that he can help with that don’t take too much time. And maybe they can get together? Who knows?”

We really shouldn’t be complaining about this.”

(Virgil) “Anyway, is there anything I can help you with?”

Dang it! The machine!

(Roman) “I completely forgot!”

Is he laughing? Adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roman was fixing things just at the very beginning. Virgil knew that the whole time.


	8. Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pride and Self-Righteousness get along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self-Righteousness can read people.

Boy, the others seem to get along well. The other… dark sides? Creativity and Hope as disney villains? Weirdoes? look slightly out of place. Dimension Crasher and opposite me are acting… very friendly. And everybody else from the crazy world is working together like there’s never been a moment of miscommunication in their lives, let alone… whatever prompted Dimension Crasher to start ranting in the middle of the living room.

(Pride) “They look pretty happy, don’t they?”

Did that sound… off?

(Self-Righteousness) “Of course. They’re seeing their friend again. That’s the reason that they did all of this in the first place.”

I guess so.

(Pride) “Didn’t sound like those guys were on great terms with Anxiety.”

I mean, there was a lot of yelling, and terror, but I didn’t get a friendly impression.

(Self-Righteousness) “I’m not sure. Maybe they made up a while ago, and he still has emotions about it. Maybe he’s suppressing it. Maybe they’re making up right now. They don’t seem super cheerful.”

Guess not.

(Pride) “Creativity and Hope?”

Mind reader skills, activate!

(Self-Righteousness) “They really don’t want him to be over there.”

No duh.

(Pride) “Of course.”

He doesn’t usually state the obvious.

(Self-Righteousness) “Give me a minute, all right? Uh, more than would be smart. They know that there is a portal machine that can bring Vigilance right back, and Creativity still looks like he’s ready to go and charge through the portal and steal Vigilance.”

That’s Creativity.

(Pride) “Neither of them are very smart about it.”

Vigilance, sometimes.

(Self-Righteousness) “We’ve got the only smart one. More or less.”

He is not paying any attention.

(Pride) “Looks like now he’s less.”

Does that sometimes.

(Self-Righteousness) “Ah, well. This is more interesting then whatever internal processing thing he’s doing anyway.”

Most certainly.

(Pride) “Yeah. Wonder what he’s thinking about.”

I can’t read that much of anyone, but Logic? Never.

(Self-Righteousness) “ Probably the portal.”

Of course.

(Pride) “Never did manage to make it, did he?”

Maybe at some point.

(Self-Righteousness) “No. But those guys did. All together. Wondering if that would have helped.”

Doesn’t sound like Control.

(Pride) “Can’t see it happening.”

He’s not very cooperative.

(Self-Righteousness) “Nah. Him dealing with other people is hard enough. Having them poke their noses into his stuff…”

They would be dead.

(Pride) “Yeah, no thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, do they feel left out?


	9. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creativity panics. Hope is reassuring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Creativity focused chapter? Maybe.

I miss him already.

(Hope) “Come on, Creativity. He’ll be fine.”

He’s right over there.

(Creativity) “But I miss him! We just got him back and now he’s gone, and if the portal closes, he’ll be gone forever!”

Of course he’s panicking, but he doesn’t have to.

(Hope) “Who opened the portal?”

Questions usually help.

(Creativity) “...Control’s opposite guy? Logic?”

Not quite.

(Hope) “Probably, but what about all the people working on it right now?”

Including the reason we panicked?

(Creativity) “All of them. So they worked together.”

Not even a question.

(Hope) “So they can definitely do it again.”

More panic? Why?

(Creativity) “They aren’t going to keep him, are they?”

I can see why they would, but they won’t.

(Hope) “They are Anxiety’s more responsible, cheerful friends. They are not going to kidnap Virgil.”

They have Anxiety trusting them. I trust them.

(Creativity) “No. No, they won’t. He’ll be fine. We’ll get him back.”

Yeah.

(Hope) “He’s not even gone yet.”

Thank goodness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite?


	10. Deceit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Banter. Between Patton and Janus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two would probably get along okay, after some time.

(Janus) “I really do not know how the two of them get along so well.”

I mean, it seems like some of Thomas’ fans have called it, but how?

(Patton) “They love each other!”

Ah, yes. Mr. Positivity.

(Janus) “But how? Pass me that screw, please.”

I mean, they seemed like they hated each other's guts until they started dating.

(Patton) “I don’t really know? But they care about each other, and if teasing and snarking is the way that they communicate, it seems to be working for them.”

Too well.

(Deceit) “So,because they like to snark at people, when they moved past just snarking at each other, they started snarking at other people, and then each other again?

That’s as much as I can tell about their relationship.

(Patton) “They do other things! But yeah, more or less.”

Huh?

(Deceit) “What other things?”

I’ve never seen them doing much else.

(Patton) “Movie nights, visits to the Imagination, listening to music together, video games. Just stuff together. I guess you aren’t around to see it very often, but they do love each other. They just don’t always express it the way you expect.”

Sounds a bit like me and Remus. Though our activities tend to be a bit more… violent.

(Deceit) “No sonnets, then?”

Sounds like Roman.

(Patton) “I think he tried it once. Virgil did not appreciate him reading it out loud to all of us.”

He wouldn’t.

(Patton) “Doesn’t mind reading them himself, though.”

Hmm?

(Deceit) “How do you know this?”

He’s not the most chatty being on earth. I think.

(Patton) “He complained to me about Roman. He has to tell me about their dates too.”

Of course.

(Deceit) “Does it work the other way around?”

It would have to. Virgil would pay Patton back, and Patton would talk about Logan for hours.

(Patton) “Yeah. Wait, how do you know about that?”

Really?

(Deceit) “Everybody knows.”

Why is he so surprised?

(Patton) “Everybody?”

That’s high pitched.

(Deceit) “Yeah, even Remus. Well, probably not Logan. He’s just about as dense as you are.”

Can’t deal with his emotions, won’t admit he has them. Perfect pair.

(Patton) “Remus?”

He’s not that clueless.

(Deceit) “Hey, he might act clueless, but he can figure this stuff out. And he can take care of his own well-being. When he’s not messing around with his organs.”

And at least they go back in. And don’t cause lasting damage.

(Patton) “I wasn’t going to ask, but since you're being so rude… Are you dating Remus?”

Not that rude. Not something I really want to talk about, though. So horribly impolite for Patton.

(Janus) “Yeah. For a while now.”

We were the least complicated.

(Patton) “How?”

He is actually startled.

(Janus) “We grew up together. I’m all about taking care of yourself, and Remus doesn’t have the best filter. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait forever to talk to him, but he just blurted it out, and then we started dating.”

What he blurted out wasn’t exactly ‘I love you’ but it was close enough. For us. Maybe not Patton. Almost certainly not for Patton.

(Patton) “I think I would be too scared of hurting him.”

Is he trying to say something bad about Remus? No, he wouldn’t. Not on purpose. Not to my face.

(Janus) “You should try it. He loves you, I think. And you are only trying not to hurt him by keeping your emotions tamped down. You are emotions. He will probably say yes. If not, trapping yourself in this limbo along with him will do both of you no long term good.”

He wasn’t listening to all of it, was he?

(Patton) “You think he likes me?”

Yes.

(Janus) “Most likey.”

He acts like it.

(Patton) “But you don’t know.”

Of course not.

(Janus) “I am as sure as I can be with Logan. If he doesn’t, I don’t think that it will be awful, as far as let downs go. Just do it. I’m pretty sure everyone here is sick of it. Go. Try it. I’m Self-Preservation. I know these things. I know it’s probably worth it.”

Just stop stressing.

(Patton) “...How come Roman’s not giving me this advice? Or Virgil?”

I don’t know.

(Janus) “They should have, but I will.”

I have to.

(Janus) “Maybe not yet, though. Kinda in the middle of something.”

Now, where does this go?

(Patton) “Ah! Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe not great, but okay.


	11. Self-Righteousness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reflection. Not too deep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two are fun. Kind of missing the point entirely.

(Pride) “It’s kind of weird, isn’t it?”

Mind providing an explanation?

(Self-Righteousness) “What is?”

My opposite practically collapsing because of whatever Hope’s opposite keeps talking about? Because it’s probably Logic, and that’s just the strangest outcome.

(Pride) “Seeing all of them. And they’re all happy.”

Of course they are. Saps.

(Self-Righteousness) “If you mean Creativity and Hope, that’s probably pretty normal. I guess it could be pretty confusing if you cared, given how much they act like this. I guess seeing alternate versions of ourselves being cheerful, that could be pretty strange too, but I think that you wouldn’t say it quite like that. If you mean Vigilance, then yeah. Didn’t really know he was capable of that much positivity, especially when surrounded by our counterparts, who are also happy and seem to like him. Because it’s Vigilance.”

Vigilance is serious or sarcastic or protective and extra serious, but never really happy. Or I’ve never seen him happy. Or thought he could really be. He doesn’t act like it. Maybe that’s my fault? Ah, well.

(Pride) “Yeah. Also, Anxiety, who is even more… calm than Vigilance is, is having a field day with his… boyfriend? This is just very weird.”

Yeah. The whole “Thomas is openly gay, and I have a boyfriend was a bit much to process, but they are definitely in love. It’s weird.

(Self-Righteousness) “Tell me about it.”

He’s going to take that as a cue, isn’t he?

(Pride) “Seeing… Morality talking to Deceit is pretty strange. They have tension, don’t they?”

Good that he picked up on that. Guess he might finally be putting these lessons into effect. Then again, with only Control to read most of the time, I can’t blame him for slow progress.

(Self-Righteousness) “Definitely. Not letting it slip by very much. You’re getting better.”

Not that much, but it’s to be expected.

(Pride) “Thanks. You got any guesses as to why, though?”

That’s a bit trickier.

(Self-Righteousness) “I don’t know. But they are definitely trying to get along right now.”

Better than what we’re doing. Wait…

(Pride) “And all of it together is weird. Just seeing Anxiety and Vigilance together is confusing. Kind of hard to tell them apart.”

Little bit.

(Self-Righteousness) “And they both look pretty at home with the others.”

Don’t suppose they could just keep Vigilance and his family, and let us have Thomas? Probably not, given the way that they look at him. Also, Vigilance hasn’t even met him yet. At least he might be a little less emotional. Although the whole “I have positive emotions” was a bit of a shock, so who knows what will happen next.

(Pride) “Yeah. They do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was supposed to be written as if the conversations were happening simultaneously, but it kind of... splintered


	12. Morality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chatter, and past shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil had to get to the light sides somehow.

It’s nice to have somebody else to talk to about Logan. And if he didn’t want to, he shouldn’t have mentioned it.

(Patton) “I just don't know how to ask him.”

Really. I could talk about Logan forever.

(Janus) “You really want my help?”

Wait, really?

(Patton) “Of course!”

I could use some more. A lot more. And he’s already helped.

(Janus) “Okay, I guess I can. Just can’t get too distracted.”

Yeah, we should probably keep fixing the machine, but it’s just been so long since we were all together and talking… about normal stuff. I know we had to do all this stuff, but it’s nice to not have to. To relax. Maybe when we’re done with fixing this, I can get Logan to watch something with us.

(Janus) “So, the whole working with him thing would have been great, if he was ever distracted from his work for more than a couple of seconds, by actual people. Maybe if you were doing it alone, you could do something, but I wouldn’t count on it. I think that inviting him to things might work. Eventually.”

He realized-Of course.

(Patton) “I suppose I did do that a lot more than I did for you. Or Virgil.”

Did I startle him?

(Janus) “You invited Virgil to things?”

How does he think I befriended him?

(Patton) “...Yes? He seemed sad all by himself, most of the time.”

Oh, that’s not great.

(Janus) “He was sad?”

It wasn’t that apparent, but I am in charge of emotions.

(Patton) “Yeah. He kept telling me to leave him alone, but not really. And then I came one day and he was sobbing. So I comforted him, and then he didn’t tell me to leave as much, so I invited him to bake something. He really loved those cookies. Logic came in, after a couple of weeks, and started at him for at least a minute, before getting a cup of coffee and leaving immediately. He warned me about Virgil, but he couldn’t convince me that easily. I think he was worried about me. Roman was… less enthusiastic. He tried to hit Virgil with his sword.”

That did not go well.

(Janus) “He what?”

Yeah, that wasn’t great.

(Patton) “Logan grabbed him, don’t worry. Virgil didn’t get hit.”

Roman can be a bit… overzealous.

(Janus) “And here I thought you were the good guys. Less prone to random stabbery.”

What?

(Patton) “That’s happened before? That wasn’t a good choice, but we had strong words, and it never happened again.”

Is this a thing that has happened? Is this a thing that has happened more than once?

(Janus) “Uh, yeah. Remus is Intrusive Thoughts. If he didn’t try to hit me over the head with his mace once in a while, I would be more concerned.”

...I  _ guess  _ that makes sense?

(Patton) “I’m sorry. I guess I’m not too used to you guys yet. I’ll work on it.”

Why does he look so confused?

(Janus) “...No problem. I shouldn’t expect you to suddenly be able to deal with all of us, when you’ve been surrounded by normal people your whole life. Well, maybe not quite normal. Less murderous, or prone to scemeing as a whole.”

I guess that’s right?

(Patton) “I’ll do my best. But yeah, I wouldn’t invite him to anything with more than me, because the others didn’t like him very much. The first time he came over, I was so happy. Didn’t want to talk about what had happened, and he looked sad, but he looked happier by the time we were done. Then he started coming over more often, and he got very annoyed when Roman told him to leave, so he came to a movie night, and then… well. And then his room showed up here. That was not great. He wasn’t very comfortable with that for a while, but it got better. And Roman still hasn’t decapitated anyone, so that’s a good thing.”

Kind of bittersweet. But at least they seem like they might get along better then they do now, never mind when Janus first showed up.

(Janus) “I’m glad he was mostly happy with you.”

Me too.

(Patton) “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly done.


	13. Thomas (Opposite)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit repetitive, very excitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vigilance's lines alternate between bubbly and tragic and scolding very fast.

I heard Vigilance was back. Well, at least he seems like he might not talk my ear off. You know, since he’s supposed to be careful, and whatnot. Well, he can’t be much worse than Creativity, and maybe I need to hear him.

(Vigilance) “THOMAS!”

Maybe a bit worse than Creativity.

(Thomas) “...Hey, Vigilance.”

This should be fun.

(Vigilance) “Oh, please, just call me Vig! It’s easier that way, You don’t need to be formal with me. I am just so glad to see you. Well, see you again. It’s been a while. I know I should have been there to help you make decisions, but do you have any common sense? Anyway-”

What is going on.

(Vigilance) “-I really need to know how the heck they convinced you they were the good ones, because if you fall for something like this in real life, then we're flipped. Well, even more flipped then being piloted by all of your more negative traits, playing off each other to make each other stronger.”

I… guess that’s a good point? He could have said it nicer. And tried not to be so aggressive.

(Vigilance) “Sorry if I’m coming on too strong. It’s just been so long, and I’m so happy to see you again. I missed you. It kind of drove us crazy, you know. Being away from you. The reason for our existence. Control did a good flipping job of blocking us out.”

Well, more guilt. Yay.

(Vigilance) “Ah, well. Could have been worse. At least Control cared if we lived or died.”

Wait, what?

(Thomas) “What did you just say?”

Please tell me I heard that wrong.

(Vigilance) “Eh, they might have, but they sure as heck didn’t trust us. Creativity nearly died because you didn’t use him enough.”

Well, I think somebody should have told me that.

(Vigilance) “Then Control did something to him while Hope was getting punched in the face to make it so we could get in to see him.”

What.

(Thomas) “...I think I might have a better understanding of why they don’t like each other so much.”

Maybe an understatement.

(Vigilance) “They never told you? Ah, I guess it makes sense. They never told you about how Self-Righteousness kidnapped me, did they?”

Nope.

(Thomas) “What?”

How do I not know any of this?

(Vigilance) “Yup. Hope and Creativity saved my butt. Lived with them ever since. Got up to a lot of pranks and messing around with stuff. They’re my family.”

At least one good thing came out of this mess.

(Thomas) “Is there… anything else that I should know?”

Seems like I can trust him.

(Vigilance) “Ditch your friends. They’re ashholes.”

Alright. Confirmed.

(Thomas) “Anxiety took care of that.”

Probably for the best, honestly.

(Vigilance) “He just came through and wrecked everything, didn’t he?”

More or less.

(Thomas) “Yeah. Seems like it needed to be wrecked.”

Probably.

(Vigilance) “Also…”

How long am I going to be here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the repetition, again.


	14. Thomas (Regular)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I still don't understand Thomas as a character, Ah, well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendship!

(Virgil) “Hey, we need to talk. All of us. All together.”

I’m missing something.

(Thomas) “What went on when I wasn’t looking?”

I swear I just want to be in the loop, but we can’t all live in our heads.

(Virgil) “Uh, yeah. Lots of stuff.”

That never means anything good.

(Remus) “Hey, Tommy!”

Oh, gosh.

(Thomas) “Hey, Remus.”

Is everybody coming? Did they sort out their issues while I wasn’t looking? That would be great, but I really think this getting to know yourself stuff is supposed to be less complicated.

(Remus) “I’m sure our Virgil was just about to tell you how we’re besties now?”

Maybe.

(Virgil) “Something about how we are a bit closer now, but besties. Sure. I’m not going to murder Deceit either. Unless he does something.”

Well, that seems more likely.

(Deceit) “Well, I am terrified. I will never step a toe out of line again. Thank you for saving Thomas, Virgil.”

And that seems almost typical.

(Patton) “Cool it, you too! We have more to talk about with Thomas.”

Hmm?

(Thomas) “What is it? Did the baking rip my mind apart, or something, and you have only just now managed to retrieve the shards from the deepest corners of my subconscious?”

I hope not. My auto-pilot mode is not great at differentiating tasks.

(Roman) “No, but I wonder if we could write that into something. It sounds like a great idea.”

Seems sort of context-specific, and a bit too fantastical, but alright.

(Logan) “What we have come to talk to you about, Thomas is the prospect of having Vigilance, Hope and Creativity over. Given that the other Thomas can survive without them, and the fact that we have not been able to spend very much time with the people that Vigilance considers family, I believe that it would be good to get together,”

I guess that makes sense.

(Virgil) “Not Pride, Self-Righteousness or Control, though. Right?”

Probably not.

(Patton) “No, they weren't invited.”

Makes sense.

(Deceit) “They did mention that Control wanted to look around, but that seems like more curiosity then a sleepover.”

I don’t think that will hurt?

(Thomas) “Sure. That’s fine. Just, don’t let Control explode anything. Please.”

He doesn’t sound like the most reasonable researcher.

(Roman) “So, what are we going to do with them?”

I’m not sure when they all became friends, but it’s nice. Not sure I really have time for it, but I can listen and watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Control is still not on board with friendship. Give him a couple of months.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it, hope you enjoyed.


End file.
